Birch syrup explored as niche

New Hampshire eyeing maple syrup add-on as new business venture

Associated Press

Associated Press

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, March 31, 2013

In this Wednesday, March 28, 2013 photo, David Moore of the Crooked Chimney sugarhouse checks the flow of his tapped white birch trees in Lee, N.H. Moore, New Hampshires only known commercial birch syrup producer, got his start in 2008, when he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

In this Wednesday, March 28, 2013 photo, David Moore of the Crooked...

In this Wednesday, March 28, 2013 photo, David Moore of the Crooked Chimney sugarhouse poses in front of one of his tapped white birch trees, in Lee, N.H. Moore, New Hampshires only known commercial birch syrup producer, got his start in 2008, when he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

In this Wednesday, March 28, 2013 photo, David Moore of the Crooked...

In this Thursday, March 29, 2013 photo, David Moore of the Crooked Chimney sugarhouse pours fresh white birch sap into the evaporator in Lee, N.H. Moore has been using white birch to make his new sweet birch syrup. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

In this Thursday, March 29, 2013 photo, David Moore of the Crooked...

In this Thursday, March 29, 2013 photo, Johanna Lake checks the evaporator at David Moore's Crooked Chimney sugarhouse Lee, N.H. Moore, New Hampshires only known commercial birch syrup producer, got his start in 2008, when he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Unlike maple syrup-drenched Vermont and lobster-rich Maine, New Hampshire doesn't have much to call its own in the food world. But it could find a future claim to fame in birch syrup, a nontraditional but increasingly popular product pulled from New Hampshire's state tree.

For now, New Hampshire has just one known commercial producer of birch syrup, which is made in a similar manner as maple syrup but tastes completely different and commands a significantly higher price. But the industry is growing in western Canada and Alaska, and it's being studied as a possible add-on venture for maple syrup producers across the northeastern United States.

Cornell University researchers tapped 400 birch trees in Lake Placid last year and 300 more this year to determine everything from optimum tapping times and collection practices to consumer preferences. Similar work is under way at the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center, where professor Abby van den Berg is studying whether it makes economic sense for maple syrup producers to expand into birch.

The first step is figuring out how much sap can be extracted from the average birch tree in the Northeast using modern practices, she said. Then comes number-crunching to figure out how many birch trees would have to be tapped to turn a profit. Given that much of the same equipment and techniques can be used to make both syrups, and the fact that birch sap generally starts to flow just as maple sap dries up, "it does present a tantalizing possibility," van den Berg said.

While interest in birch syrup is growing, there are a few reasons why it has yet to catch on, Michael Farrell, director of Cornell's Uihlein Sugar Maple Research and Extension Field Station, said. The maple season is short but exhausting, he said, so many producers may not relish the prospect of starting all over again with birch. And though birch trees are plentiful, they may not be growing close enough to maple trees to make it worthwhile for established maple producers. Finally, there's the taste: Those accustomed to the sweetness of maple are often shocked by the fruity, tangy flavor of birch, which is more suited to marinades and savory dishes.

"If you were to put birch syrup on pancakes, you would regret that," Farrell said.